The Jacket
December 28, 2005
Like the similarly themed The Machinist (2004), The Jacket (which was released in the same year) is all about the fractured perception of its protagonist. Jack Starks (Brody) is a U.S. soldier badly wounded in the first Persian Gulf War that resulted...
The Ice Harvest
December 12, 2005
The Ice Harvest (2005) is a pitch black comedy set in Wichita, Kansas on Christmas Eve. Charlie (Cusack) is a mob lawyer who has stolen $2 million of his boss’ (Quaid) money with the help of Vic (Thornton), a local pornographer. Charlie has a thing...
Hostage
December 5, 2005
Quentin Tarantino has said that he cast Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction (1994) because he reminded him of Ralph Meeker, an actor who had a classic film noir quality to him that the filmmaker was looking for. Willis exudes the same kind of presence in two...
Prime Cut
December 5, 2005
Prime Cut (1972) is a neglected crime thriller directed by Michael Ritchie, known more for helming the Fletch movies than making a gritty action movie with Lee Marvin and Gene Hackman. Nick (Marvin) is an enforcer hired for $50,000 to collect $500,000...
Hide and Seek
December 4, 2005
Remember when Robert De Niro used to make good movies? Now, he seems content to star in formulaic comedies and cliched thrillers like this “gem.” Hide and Seek (2005) marks a new low for the veteran thespian. You know your career is in trouble when...
Constantine: Deluxe Edition
December 3, 2005
Constantine (2005) marks the feature film debut of music video director Francis Lawrence who, judging by the look of this movie, would like to follow in the footsteps of David Fincher. For his first time out, Lawrence takes on the daunting task of adapting...
Assault on Precinct 13
November 23, 2005
Assault on Precinct 13 (2004) is a remake of John Carpenter’s no frills cult classic (which was a remake of Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo) but with a name cast and a CGI facelift. The results are a mixed bag. While competently filmed and ably acted by the...
Sin City
November 12, 2005
Sin City began as series of graphic novels created by Frank Miller. They are loving homages to the gritty pulp novels of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane and classic film noirs from the ‘40s and ‘50s. Miller’s world—the dangerous,...
Steve McQueen Collection
November 11, 2005
The one word that is always used to describe actor Steve McQueen is cool. He was the essence of cool. The movies he made were always considered the epitome of cool. He was a hard working, hard playing rebel who had the kind of dangerous charisma that...
Danger: Diabolik
November 6, 2005
Mario Bava was known predominantly for making classic horror films like Black Sabbath (1963) but he also essayed several other genres in his long, illustrious career: sword and sandal epics, science fiction and, with Danger: Diabolik (1968), a comic book...
